Jack Gold (1930–2015)

Hugely entertaining psychological thriller about John Morlar (Richard Burton), a man who has the "ability" to cause catastrophes; Dr Zonfeld (Lee Remick), the psychiatrist who tries to convince him he's simply delusional and French cop on exchange in London, Detective inspector Brunel (Lino Ventura) charged with investigating Morlar's apparent murder. All this plays out against a set of astronauts lost on the dark side of the moon, a jumbo jet crashing into central London and a plot to kill show more in the Royal Family by collapsing Westminster Abbey on top of them a host of visiting world leaders. John Briley's screenplay (from Peter Van Greenaway's novel) is incident-packed and frantic with a quasi-serious approach to telekinesis and pseudo-science. Despite the myriad plot streams, director Jack Gold manages to keep control of the picture delivering some cleverly constructed pacing and some elaborate flashback sequences. There are some dodgy special effects but these are compensated for by the suspense generated by Gold during these effect sequences. Richard Burton is excellent in the lead role, with a manic glint in his eye and his sonorous, perfect diction chewing brilliantly on some doomed and depressing dialogue. Nothing too strenuous is asked of Lee Remick and Lino Ventura but they go about their business in solid fashion. The cast also contains a host of great character actors including Harry Andrews, Michael Hordern and Derek Jacobi. All this adds up to a clever '70s psycho-drama that has some great classic touches and a feeling of dread and suspense from beginning to end. show less

An excellent adaptation of Michelle Magorian's book about the malnourished, abused William who is sent as an evacuee to live with the Grumpy - and hurting - Tom Oakley. John Thaw is superb in the role as Mister Tom, and Nick Robinson believable and emotive as young Will.

Realistic backgrounds showing some of the horrors of war, and some great supporting cast members. Nicely paced, and - as far as I remember - very close to the book, as far as the story goes.

Rated PG but I wouldn't recommend show more it to sensitive children; I'd give it a 12 rating myself.

Longer review: https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2025/01/goodnight-mister-tom-john-shaw-nick.... show less

Inspector Morse Episode - Excellent

The duke of Vienna leaves the city for a short while and puts Angelo in charge in his absence. Isabella, a novice nun, goes to plead with Angelo for the life of her brother, Claudio, who is accused of ‘fornication’. Angelo, taking advantage of the situation tries to blackmail Isabella into sleeping with him. But the Duke, who is observing everything in disguise, comes to the rescue. With his help the virtuous Isabella saves the life of her brother and keeps her honour intact.

Measure for show more Measure reads like a comedy but many think of it as a ‘problem’ play. I guess it may be classified as a problem play as it shows the rampant licentiousness and the appalling corruption of the rich. The central theme of ‘illicit’ sex (even though by law at least both Claudio & Juliet and Angelo & Mariana are considered to be married) was unique for me. I have read many Classic plays where only ‘villains’ engage in ‘illicit’ sex. But in Measure for Measure Claudio & Juliet are not portrayed as immoral people or as villains. In fact a lot of later productions of Measure for Measure toned down these elements by showing everyone to be either secretly married or by showing Angelo as a good person who was only testing Isabella’s virtue. This was one of my more unsettling Shakespeares. Themes of debauchery, prostitution and corruption are not really fodders for comedy. Angelo’s abuse of power and the apparent helplessness of the common people when faced with this kind of corruption rings really true even today. Overall, Measure for Measure is an OK film but I will not call it light entertainment. show less